Me, a Genius? I Was Reborn into Another World and I Think They’ve Got the Wrong Idea!, Vol. 2

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By Nyun and Sakana. Released in Japan as “Isekai ni Tensei Shitandakedo Ore, Tensai tte Kanchigai Saretenai?” by Overlap, Inc. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Shaun Cook.

I’m afraid that there’s a bit of a sophomore slump with this second volume. It was always going to be hard to keep the lightning in the bottle, but I think the author may have changed things up a bit TOO much. Most of the events and places that we were introduced to in the first book are jettisoned, including his school and friends – yes, even Alice, despite being the main cover girl for the second time, barely appears – and instead Kouki’s parents, realizing that eventually the world is going to have to do something about their son that everyone assumes is an amoral monster, decide it’s for the best to move. With 100,000 of their colleagues. To another universe. Because even though most of the actual plot of the first book is abandoned for this second book, the basic premise remains the same – everyone thinks they’re the only same person in the room, and everyone is wrong – they’re all over the top out of their gourds.

The reason they’re able to do the universe move is, for once, not because of some invention of Kouki’s, but because they’re investigating ruins on the moon and Kouki does what no one else has been able to, which is figuring out the hieroglyphics that are they key to get inside. There they meet an alien who gives them a device to look over other worlds. Sadly, the world they end up choosing has its own issues, and so while the first book in this series is science fiction of a sort, this is more playing with isekai fantasy. Of course, Kouki and his family are still who they are, and so they proceed to do laughable stuff that it’s impossible for the reader to take seriously and pass it off as obvious. There are still some very good jokes, such as when Miki realizes that Kouki has somehow learned magic, and her solution is “I’ll just learn it too so I can say I taught him”.

It’s become increasingly clear why this alternate universe Kouki was reincarnated in is like this – it has no casual fiction. No manga, anime, fantasy, video games, etc. This is why people stare in horror when Kouki does things that are what a casual teenage otaku might want to do after seeing an episode of your average sentai show and having unlimited access to the tech that can achieve it. Unfortunately, the actual writing itself still lacks focus – the changing viewpoints are clever, but they also mean that we flit from location to location at times, never really getting time to settle down and like any of these people. As the hero, Kouki fares best, and his emotional breakdown about the horror of war near the end wasn’t horrible, but I did feel that it hadn’t really been earned.

The series ends with the third volume, and I’m not sure if it’s got a real ending or an “open ending because who knows, maybe sales will perk up again” ending. Given it’s only three volumes, I’m going to read the next one, especially to see if they resolve the Alice subplot they mentioned and forgot in Vol. 1, and which doesn’t come up at all here. Till then, this is still goofy fun, but doesn’t really stick with you too much after reading.

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 12

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By Mizuho Kusanagi. Released in Japan as “Akatsuki no Yona” by Hakusensha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Hana to Yume. Released in North America by Viz. Translated by JN Productions, Adapted by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane.

One of the many things that the author of Yona of the Dawn is very good at is showing that the world keeps moving even as Yona and company are gallivanting around saving villages, gathering more hot guys, and hiding her true status from prying eyes, other parts of the Kingdom still have events move forward. Indeed, it’s doubly true here, as we see that Su-Jin, the leader of the Fire Tribe, has been plotting to overthrow the King for some time now, and is not going to let a little detail like Su-Won actually killing the previous King and taking over stop him. After all, what good are plans if they don’t end with you in a position of absolute authority? And so a lot of this volume is warfare and tactics, which is good. Fans of Yona’s slow-burning relationship with Hak may not get a lot to see here, but it doesn’t matter, as Kusanagi commands the reader’s attention no matter what she writes.

One of the things I like best anout this series is that it shows Yona’s decisions, which usually involve impulsively trying to protect those being attacked even when it would be far more sensible to stay hidden and keep doing reconnaissance, as being the right thing to do. Yes, Yun occasionally chimes in with how stupid this actually is, but the reason that everyone follows Yona is because she is wearing a nametag that says “Have you hugged your idealist today?”. Yes, the narrative shows that she made the right decision every time, but that’s the point. This is a manga that began with Yona’s crush and childhood friend betraying her and killing her father, and yet it refuses to get bitter and cynical, even when events conspire against it. Every time Yona looks determined and asks everyone to fight to save the oppressed, my heart grows a little bigger.

There is a bit of humor and romantic tease in this volume, mostly confined to the start, which sees all the guys squeezed into one small tent, or the wonderful shot of Jaeha with Sinha in his arms – not exactly what he’d planned. Presumably so the cliffhangers work out, we also get a couple pf side stories to round out the volume, the longer of which deals with Gija and the scars on his back. I’ll be honest, as the “harem” around Yona has grown, I feel that Gija has slipped into the background more than the others, so this was a nice way to remind readers of his past – which was sad, but not quite as sad as others were assuming. That said, I suspect readers will be focused more on the outcome of the battle between Su-Jin and Su-Won, and how the Happy Hungry Bunch are going to interfere even though they’re up against a ridiculous number of troops.

To sum up, Yona of the Dawn is still one of Viz’s best titles. Everyone should be reading it.

Invaders of the Rokujouma!?, Vol. 13

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By Takehaya and Poco. Released in Japan as “Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?” by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Warnis.

Much as the Rokujouma series in general has focused on life on Earth, and more specifically around Room 106, I’ve been starting to get a feeling that when the series does eventually end (and it’s showing a few signs it may soon in Japan, though we’re still long away from it here) it’s going to be having the cast emigrating to Forthorthe in some way, shape or form. Theia and Ruth’s plotline is simply too wrapped up in a world far away from here. We see that at the start of this book, where both of them go back to their planet to investigate her mother’s supposed illness, and the narrative kind of idles while everyone waits for them to get back. It takes a lot to shift these folks from where they want to be – next to Koutarou. That said, we’re also seeing that Theia and her mother are being set up to look like traitors by the bad guys, so a closer visit to modern Forthorthe is no doubt in the offing. For now, though, enjoy a volume that’s almost all battle.

Yes, Ruth’s evil ex-fiance is back, and bhe’s brought friends and a consuming desire to battle Koutarou. As such, once Theia and Ruth return with her mother the Empress (turns out the illness was a lie – no surprises there), our heroes are under attack from multiple fronts. This allows us to show off the varied skills of all the group while also showing that, unlike Koutarou, they are allowed to lose to superior numbers and firepower. Koutarou is an exceeption, but again this book takes the time to hammer home again and again that he’s using “borrowed power” from everyone. That said, what he does with all that power is purely him, even if he refuses to admit it. There are a few exceptions, of course. Harumi, newly awakened to the magic she has within her, as well as to the fact that she’s Alaia’s reincarnation (something only Clan and Theia’s mother seem to be figuring out), and suddenly she’s a huge powerhouse, though sadly this does push Yurika’s talents off to the side a bit.

And then there’s Shizuka. Now, given that the last few books have been trying their darndest to make Shizuka part of the main harem, despite the fact that she’s not in love with Koutarou (yet), there was always going to be a revelation about her. Her super strength for no reason at all was a signpost there. Still, it’s hard not to be amused when Koutarou literally pulls a deus ex machina and calls on his ancient dragon friend from the past… only to find the dragon has been within Shizuka all along. Shizuka herself seems unaware of this, possibly because the author wanted to have a wacky tag for the epilogue, but I suspect it’s only a matter of time before she ends up much the same as Harumi is now. Given the nature of this book, it’s unsurprising that there are an awful lot of last-minute saves and “oh, did I mention I can do this” twists to it. Oh, and we also hear about another Koutqarou and Clan time-travel adventure we haven’t seen yet, though I hope that doesn’t mean another .5 volume.

So with Theia and her mother likely having to stay in exile for a while, and the two biggest antagonists in the series joining forces at the end, what’s coming up? This feels very much like an “End of Part One” sort of book, so I suspect next time we’ll see the start of something new.